The Browns are trying to shake their reputation as a losing franchise, and free-agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney's apparent hesitance to sign in Cleveland is not helping the cause.
Clowney, 27, remains the top player available in a market that opened more than two months ago. Multiple reports have suggested that the Browns are interested in signing him, and ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed on a radio interview Wednesday that Cleveland indeed wants Clowney, perhaps more so than any other team. But what about the other way around?
"I think they've been the most aggressive team with him financially," Schefter said of the Browns on ESPN Cleveland (via ESPN's Jake Trotter). "And, I just think he has balked at going to Cleveland for whatever reason. I think he's been hesitant to go because if he wasn't, he would've gone already because it's the most money. It's the richest offer on the table and he hasn't taken it.
"So why is that? I don't know. Is that not wanting to be in that city? Is that a lack of belief in the organization? I don't know what it is. But there's no doubt that Cleveland has offered the most money to date. For whatever reason he has not been willing to take it so far.
"That doesn't mean that it couldn't change, but hasn't changed just yet."
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For a player who once reportedly was going after a contract worth $20 million per year and who has since reduced that asking price to the $17 million range, this simply could be a case of Clowney taking the time he has in such a unique NFL offseason. That theory was floated by Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson during a recent appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show."
"I think he's waiting until he knows there are no other options out there," Robinson said. "This is what's sitting in front of him: A huge pay cut with a team like, say, the Titans. I honestly think it's whittled down to a huge pay cut with the Titans or something with the Browns that is less than the $20 million he wants, but at least closer."
Indeed, the Browns and Titans still seem to be Clowney's best options, as SN's Vinnie Iyer wrote last month. The Seahawks, who traded with the Texans to land Clowney last August, do not appear willing to re-sign him.
Tennessee's interest in Clowney makes sense considering that head coach Mike Vrabel coordinated Houston's defense in 2017, when Clowney recorded a career-high 9.5 sacks. He would be an ideal fit for the Titans' 3-4 defense opposite Harold Landry.
"There's a lot of business that has to be done throughout the course of the league year. We are working through a few guys at the end of free agency," Titans general manager Jon Robinson said in early April. "I would say we are still working through it and looking at guys that are still available. I don't know that we are done, but I don't know that there will be a flurry of moves here. We have touched base with Clowney's representation, and we're kind of seeing and navigate where that one might be."
Cleveland's interest in Clowney is warranted in part because it has plenty of salary cap space. If they wanted to do so in the wake of a Clowney signing, the Browns could release defensive end Olivier Vernon and his team-high $15.5 million cap hit with no dead cap charge. They also likely are thinking about the terrifying duo that would be Clowney and Myles Garrett rushing opposing passers off the edge at the same time.
With the Browns, Clowney would play for new defensive coordinator Joe Woods, who served as the 49ers' defensive backs coach last season after a couple of years as the Broncos' DC and who arrived with new head coach Kevin Stefanski in February.
Now, the Browns evidently need to convince Clowney the on-field potential in Cleveland is greater than it is in Tennessee, matching the compensation.